Open Reading and Relaxation [World's End Grotto]

[Erik]

15th of Spring, 513 AV

"One must remember always that reimancy is a dangerous and potent discipline of magic. It is not a toy that can be used and abused as the caster wishes, to treat it as such is to invite disaster. Only through strength of mind and spirit can the reimancer achieve personal excellence and mastery over the natural world."

Erik looked up from the journal in his lap and surveyed the rather crowded tavern with deep thoughtful grey eyes. The air smelled pungently of alcohol and was filled with the sound of merriment and companionship. It was a new thing for the young reimancer, that much was for sure. Certainly the city of Zeltiva was a stark contrast to the Wildlands he lived in most days. The sheer amount of people all in one place was staggering to say the least, and it had been an experience trying to get supplies from the market and to find a buyer for his furs.

The so called World's End Grotto seemed to exemplify the city rather well as it was crowded, filled with people who constantly bump into you, and it was difficult to find service. Erik had ordered a small meal about fifteen minutes ago, he doubted it took that long to prepare simply soup with some bread and meat on the side. Still he was patient, his food would have to arrive eventually, besides it gave him a chance to catch up on reading in his family's journal. Currently he was looking back over his ancestor, Amon Sylis', form of the Wind Blade.

Erik already knew the form well enough but it never hurt to review the creator's notes, besides he liked reading Amon Sylis' sections of the journal, they were always informative. He had managed to snag himself a table in the far corner of the tavern, which was secluded enough to where felt safe enough to read the leather-bound journal of the Sylis family. The young reimancer looked up once more, searching for a waitress bearing his meal, before plunging back into Amon Sylis' notes when he saw no one coming yet.

[Alanzeo Shepart]

Alanzeo stood behind Erik, looking over his shoulder. He had noticed him looking at Amon Sylis' journal. He walked up to his ear and whispered
"Amon Sylis"
He then walked over to the opposite end of the table and knocked a glass of it. It shattered on the ground just as a waitress stood on it. Alanzeo took the opportunity and dived into her body. It took a few minutes to fight her mind but eventually he took over. He quickly ran over to Erik and started apologizing.

[Erik]

OOC: Does your character possess some knowledge of the Sylis Family? Also it is not just the Journal of Amon Sylis but of the entire Sylis line. Just thought I would clear that up.

Erik ripped from his studying almost immediately when he heard the name of Amon Sylis whispered into his ear from behind. The precious journal of his ancestors was snapped shut quickly and the young reimancer turned quickly in his chair. There was no one there, but Erik was highly alert now. The young reimancer did not just hear things like that out of the blue, he was not insane nor had he overgiven in the slightest way for at least a year. That left the explanation that someone had been there, they had just managed to escape his detection.

The fact that someone had been able to sneak a peak into the journal of his family made him feel violated. His father had always told him that the journal was for the eyes of a member of the Sylis family and no one else, and Erik had taken that to heart. The platinum blonde haired reimancer started looking about the tavern when a glass that had been left at the other end of his table fell off of the edge.

A young waitress that had been standing nearby hurried over and apologized to him for some reason. Erik was rather baffled by the apologies she sent his way, it was not as if she had knocked it over, it had simply fallen. Seeing as there were a few more eyes upon him now than he found comfortable he decided to put the girl's fears to rest.

"You needn't apologize to me, it simply fell so its not your fault good woman." The short and rather scrawny reimancer said soothingly, his voice slightly unhinged at the odd turn of events that had suddenly hit him.

"Actually its good that you happened by. If its not too much trouble could you check the kitchens and see if my food is ready yet? I would be very much appreciative." Erik asked in order to take the woman's mind from the shattered glass.

[Cisel]

~ Cisel ~ * A quite tall inarta woman entered the dining room in Words End Grotto. She had come in from the bonesnapper and still had her sheepskin coat on. And she kept it on, in spite of the warmth in the room. The falcon chick Ata sat on the falconry glove on Cisels left hand, looking small, fluffy, ugly and grim. They were planning to have dinner. The place was crowded but to an inarta it felt homely to be in a crowded place. There had not been so much privacy when she had been living in the caves of Wind Reach. She had grown up with being constantly crowded. Pushing her long red hair with the multicoloured scarf back over her shoulders she started to look around for a table. The only alcoholic brew you could buy in Zeltiva was that horrible kelp beer. This was why Cisel always was totally sober. She had tried the kelp horror once, and nothing could make her drink it again, she kept to water. But other people didn’t seem to share the disgust she felt for the beer, and as usual in the Grotto there were guests in different phases of inebriation. They were the usual mix of people, looking like sailors, scolars, students, crafters. One guest that stood out against the crowd caught her gaze. A woman or a man? Cisel wasn’t sure. Long platina blond hair framed a face that was either feminine or effeminate. She could be a woman. Then again. He could be a man. It intrigued her. The young person at the table in the far corner seemed to be deeply engaged in something he or she was reading. It could perhaps be a student on the run from the university area.If it was a man, his looks were soft – but soft looks doesn’t always mean people are so soft, be they male or female. The far corner was where you could find tables right now. Cisel made her way there slowly. There seemed to be something going on now, at the blondes table, with a waitress. When she came there she would politely ask the blonde if there was a free chair. If she was invited to share the table she would sit down, otherwise she would find another place in the room for herself and Ata. * OOCTo Erik : Please feel free to make Cisel ask Erik for a chair, let him answer as you like - put her on a chair at his table or send her off.

[Erik]

Erik had sent the young waitress away with a clam and serene smile, and had cautiously returned to his reading. Occasionally he sent glances over his shoulder, making sure that no one was peaking into the precious journal. It was more than a little unnerving that someone had managed to look upon the hallowed pages of his ancestor's works, even more unnerving was that he had no idea who had done it.

One thing the young reimancer had definitely learned was that the city was not the place for him. It was too crowded and people were often too nosey for their own good, always asking personal questions and getting a little too close for comfort. Then there was the fact that he had been mistaken for a woman at least three times in the market place, which caused some mild irritation. Just because he shaved regularly and possessed more feminine features than most men should have, didn't mean that they could just assume he was a woman.

Erik sighed as he began to look over another passage from the journal, more alert than he had been before. Which is probably why he noticed a tall red headed woman approaching his table, a chick of some kind perched upon her hand. Her clothing seemed a bit out of sorts for the crowd gathered here, then again Erik was not one to judge.

The young reimancer closed his journal and gave the tall woman an open and friendly look. She inquired if it would be alright for her to sit with him, to which he inclined his head in the affirmative.

"Feel free to take a seat, I suppose I could use some company here." Erik said, his voice serene and calm.

[Cisel]

~ Cisel ~ * Cisels silent speculations about the young man’s gender came to it’s end when she heard his voice. His expression was friendly and his gaze open. Feeling relieved that he wasn’t one of those people that stared at her clothes or didn’t like falcons at the table, she thanked him and sat down. She hoped a waiter or waitress would soon come so she could order food for herself and Ata. Ata squeaked demandingly. The chick craved constant attention, and in spite of it’s dawny albeit not so cute baby bird looks, it was an aggressive little predator bird. Cisel spoke to the chick softly in nari, her clicking and birdlike native language, taking care to keep her voice low. She didn’t want to draw attention. There were people that found it nutty to speak with a bird. It was best to be very nice now, Cisel thought. People could sometimes act like they didn’t find it natural that a small falcon was a bird that deserved lots of respect. It had happened more than once that the barbarians in this city went upset by the chicks chirping, squeaking and screeching, not to mention the way some people reacted to a few other things the chick could do. So Cisel needed to be extremely nice and friendly now, in order to make sure she would be on friendly terms with the blond man before Ata did something rude. The stranger seemed to be perfect company, well behaved and serious, not like those sailors. She needed to strike up a conversation, but what to speak about ? The young man had been reading something, but it wasn’t always wise to ask people what they were reading. She tried to think of a neutral thing to start with. Ask if he was a university student ? Not good either, you never knew how people would react if you assumed things about them. “It’s always good with company at dinner” she said. “I hope you don’t mind the falcon.” *

[Erik]

Erik found himself slightly intrigued by the woman's bird and the soft sounds she used to calm it. Though he was still an outsider to the ways of civilization it seemed rather odd that she would bring a chick into a tavern. Then again, considering the practices of his family it was not as if he had room to speak. The few other reimancers he had met in his time treated his views of the spiritual nature of the magic as odd.

Erik waved a hand before his face dismissively, giving a slight chuckle as he did so.

"You needn't worry, your bird is most welcome here." The young reimancer said, managing another glance to see if his meal was coming yet.

No such luck. Ah well, that left plenty of time for this woman.

"I fear I am rather out of my element in Zeltiva, it is far more crowded here in the city than the wilds." Erik remarked, hoping to foster some friendly conversation with the tall woman.

"I am called Erik, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance this fine evening miss..." He said by way of introduction.

He made sure to keep eye contact with the woman as his mother had always told him that it was respectful to do so. Despite his friendly exterior the young reimancer slipped his journal off of the table and on to his lap, not out of paranoia simply caution. After that earlier incident he intended to be careful when reading the journal in public places. Its contents were for the eyes and ears of the Sylis family, no one else.

[Cisel]

~ Cisel ~ * At this point a waiter arrived to ask what Cisel would like to order. “Kelp Beer?” he assumed, with a brief glance at her sheepskin coat and a longer glance at the falcon chick. Cisel shook her head, annoyed. They always glanced at her clothes, and they always assumed she was only in for the beer. Seriously, what were they thinking? In a no nonsense way she ordered grilled fish, vegetables, and raw fresh fish. “It must be fresh.” The waiter left and Cisel turned her attention back to Erik. “My name is Cisel.” She patted Ata’s dawn and explained to him that it was basic for falconry to never leave your falcon in the care of someone that isn’t a falconer. And when it comes to a chick, you cannot leave it at all. It needs to be taken care of constantly. So she was grateful that Erik didn’t mind the bird being at the table. She had been busy with the waiter and not noticed what Erik had done with his book. But she noticed it was gone. He must have tucked it away somewhere while she spoke with the waiter. The book was definitely not going to be a topic for conversation. This made Cisel think of another book that was mostly kept out of sight. It was hers, a weird heirloom out of nowhere, left for her to inherit on her 25th birthday. She had spent eight years trying to understand who had given it to her, why, and what the book was about. In vain. She had no idea where it had come from. The parts written in plain text were hard to understand and make sense of. The encrypted parts had so far resisted all her tries to figure out anything at all about them. All in all this weird heirloom she had been given was an enigma. Sometimes she wondered if it was an advanced prank that someone had played on her. But she didn’t really think so. I was given a riddle to solve. I inherited a strange book, with a content I couldn't read. Nothing do I know about what's hidden in this book, the only thing I know is that it sent me on this long journey towards unknown goals that my life became - She let go of these thoughts again, looked back at Erik and met his gaze. What was it he had said right before the waiter arrived ? Out of his element in Zeltiva, the city being far more crowded than the wilds … yes, she could very well believe that he felt out of his element. He had a calm and quiet style, quite different from the more boisterous guest in the inn. “The wilds?” she said. “So you aren’t from Zeltiva then ? Only visiting? “ *

[Erik]

Erik mused slightly how best to answer her question, he was not a resident but her would be visiting the city about once a week. Did that make him a visitor? And according to his parents he had been born here, which kind of put him in something of a grey area. The young reimancer didn't think of himself as a Zeltivan, he thought of himself of a member of the Sylis family.

Finally Erik settled on an answer he was comfortable with. "Yes I am visiting here, but I plan to frequent the city to sell any furs I find outside of Zeltiva."

His words were chosen specifically and carefully, but he still kept up his friendly countenance. He was not looking to appear suspicious, but his father had told him that it was best to be at least a little guarded around anyone. Erik noticed a woman approaching his table with a small plate of bread, some meat, and a bowl of soup.

He blushed slightly as his stomach growled audibly and cast a slightly embarrassed look to his companion.

"Sorry, must be more hungry than I had first thought." He said, as he paid the waitress five silver mizas and sent her away.

OOC Receipt: -5 SM

[Cisel]

~ Cisel ~ * Cisel smiled and jumped at the opportunity to say: “It’s only natural that there’s a few sounds when someone is hungry, isn’t it? “ She glanced at Ata. Hopefully their own food would soon arrive … the service was really slow today … “Screech, squeak, squeak! “ She spoke with the chick in nari again and stroked it’s dawn carefully with her fingertips. Erik had started eating. Cisel watched him, feeling a bit surprised that he seemed to be a hunter living in the wilds and visiting the town to sell furs. That kind of people used to look more physically fit and strong and be tanned outdoorsmen and women. Erik was looking small and of delicate build, pale and neat, and the long platina blond hair didn’t seem to be the best for a hunter. Would it not make him very visible in the wilds, just like white animals are more visible and thus also more vulnerable for the hunters and for predators? Predators. She couldn’t see this quite thin and pretty, androgyne looking young man hunt and fight predators for their skins. It seemed much more likely it would be the other way around and he would be the prey. She watched him thoughtfully. He was nice. But was he really a hunter here to sell furs, reading peacefully in the inn, silent and well behaved? This wasn’t something she could say to Erik of course. You don’t start to question people like that, in particular not strangers at a dinner table in the inn. It’s not done. Instead she answered politely : “Oh. So you will be in town for business now and then? “She paused a bit. “I’m a glass artisan. Do you by any chance know anything about glass?” Her own food arrived and she paid it and tipped the waiter in the hopes this would make him look another way when it would be time for Ata to eat. LedgerDinner for Cisel and Ata -10 SM 1CM *